You’ve got to give it to the American people. They are generally warm hearted, fair minded people who don’t like to see others being picked on…..generally. There are some notable exceptions in the history of the US that won’t get mentioned here, but what did catch my eye was this article where people are saying they won’t allow others to malign Obama’s Muslim heritage, by taking on one of his name for themselves. This is in response to the far rights assault on Obama amid the atmosphere of a really paranoid America fed a continuous diet of fear and loathing of any and all things Islamic. Nevermind the fact that Muslims have been an integral part of American society almost since the beginning of this country and like everyone else have become contributing, productive members of this society, neocons continue to make it seem as if being Muslim is something one should fear and of which one should be ashamed. Uh-oh say some who support Obama and I say kudos to you. I only wish your candidate had the same courage as you and would assert openly ‘it is inaccurate to say I am a Muslim, but it is not a smear to say so.’

Actually the above is more a plea than a statement. You can almost hear the neocons begging someone to hear the call and respond. If you’ve ever talked to one or are one yourself notice how they appeal to one’s courage, misplaced or missing, or their masculinity when confronted with someone with whom they disagree; inciting one to irrational anger and outbursts to get one to a desired goal, violence or chaos. It’s worked really well, and with all the media attention and movies which focus on violence perpetuated by Muslims, both the real and imagined, it’s quite natural some Muslims would think those are the appropriate responses to assaults on their “honor”, “dignity”, etc. Of course if Muslims don’t respond the way neocons urge them on too, they, the neocons, can always dust off their tried and true old Osama bin Laden extensive video collection and send it to the nearest compliant media outlet to air at the appropriate time in order to scare the masses to act in a certain manner.

What is significant is the way in which neocons are able to manipulate the reaction and response of Muslims by pushing certain buttons, or emphasizing issues they know will get the kind of response they want to highlight. The Danish cartoon depiction of the last Prophet is an example. Not much has been said about the re-release of those cartoons because they didn’t elicit the type of volatile images the West has been so quick to highlight. It’s unfortunate that a group of people are so predictable and that their reaction, natural though it may seem to them (i.e.Muslims) is used against them, but this is just one of the many tactics neocons use in their fight against Islam. Pronouncements such as the one made by Senator Lieberman should be viewed cunningly and warily by the Muslim world for the hidden messages it tries to plant and the reactions it hopes to illicit.